topiary cats

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

My apartment re-org is officially done. I started in 2013 with some new furniture and painting. That took a lot of time, energy, and money. That was Part 1.

This year was Part 2. And it's done. I started in the Spring, around April-May. Again, it took a lot of time, energy, and some more money. Things were a little chaotic for a while, but that's all done.

I do still have a few things that I need to go through and sort, but it's not that much and it is put away neatly. And I do still need to go through my books, but it is ok for now.

Everything is organized. Everything is clean. Everything has a home. I know what I have, and I know where it is. My entire apartment is clean and organized from the inside-out. Best of all, it has been staying like that!

Over the summer, Daya outgrew literally ALL of her clothing. All of it. Even socks and underwear. So I had to buy two new wardrobes for her in the past few months- warm weather and cool weather. That was *REALLY* expensive. I need time to recover from that. But it made cleaning and sorting really easy- there were no "maybe's".

Daya helped tremendously with the whole process- she did all her clothing and toys herself. Keep, donate, trash. And she did a wonderful job. It saved me days of work, and she learned how to go through the process. She has ownership and accountability- and control- over her space, which is her bedroom.

We threw out a lot. Between the two of us, we donated 17 (or thereabouts) REALLY LARGE bags of clothing, toys, and other items. They went to a friend's daughter's charity, which directly helps families who are in real immediate need. I heard back that one family in particular, with four girls, was so happy to receive Daya's outgrown clothing. I shared that with Daya, and that made her happy. so everyone benefited.

Moving all that stuff out cleared out my storage space for things I need and use. Because I have a small living space (NYC apartment!), anything that stays in the apartment needs to have a purpose. There has to be a justification for stuff to stay. Otherwise, it has to go.

This clearing has made all housework incredibly manageable, all over my apartment. I can honestly say it is no longer the bane of my existence. It's fine, easy, not a big deal. I'm not even sure how that happened, but it did. I'm a bit baffled, but definitely not complaining.

This has been a long ongoing process. I have turned a corner, I have finally arrived at my destination as far as having a nice orderly living space. It is very humble, very simple, but it is mine. I am proud of the work I have done. It is an accomplishment. It is something I can permanently mark off my Life Issues List.

Everyone talks about massive change with fear and destruction and horror- but what if this massive change is beneficial and positive- say, the end to the mass oppression of daily life? Things coming back into balance, such as more equitable distribution of wealth? Things coming to an end which should end? Things we, as a human collective, would welcome?